Persona 5
One of the most popular characters inPersona 5 Strikers , and in the series at large , is Ryuji Sakamoto , which makes the lack of regard the games give him that much more of a ignominy . Ryuji is the first fellow traveller primary character Ren gathers in his seeking to ramp up the Phantom Thieves , staying with the participant character through duncish and fragile . That go for both the originalPersona 5and the Musou - style sequelPersona 5 Strikers .
However , both game often treat Ryuji as little more than a joke , willfully forgetting his screen background and personality and how ripe they are for pity and dramatic storytelling . This is not the only way the games deliberately undersell their male characters - their refusal to grant for anymale romanticism inPersona 5 , for illustration - but the wayPersona 5 Strikersdid it for Ryuji actively undercut its own floor . Its pauperism to keep Ryuji a joke made its own story unfit .
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Ryuji is the mirthful relief , and that in itself is hunky-dory . But neitherPersona 5norPersona 5 Strikersallow him to grow anywhere beyond that besidesPersona 5 ’s initial story arc . Strikers , meanwhile , is even worse , undercut its own thematic structure to keep Ryuji in his shoes . And as a outcome , its finis loses the impact it could have had if Ryuji has been in a bombastic role .
Akira Konoe Should Have Been Ryuji’s Foil In Persona 5 Strikers
The thematic structure ofPersona 5 Strikers -what seduce it unique even among otherPersonagames in the series- is that every scoundrel is a foil to one of the Phantom Thieves . From the first villain , Alice Hiiragi , being a commentary on Ann , to Ango Natsume act as Yusuke ’s dark mirror , to Mariko Hyodo and her connection to Haru ’s father . With that having been set up , Akira should have been Ryuji ’s foil .
Akira and Ryuji add up from broken homes , both having been shaped by the memories of their opprobrious fathers . But whereas Ryuji had Red , Ann , and the Phantom Thieves to fall back on , Akira had no one . While Ryuji uses his connectedness to the metaverse to help others and balance the karmic scales of a deeply unjust social club , Akira built theJails inPersona 5 Strikersto ascendency the quite a little and ram the reform the thief pass on up to the people they relieve . This should have been the thematic climax of the story , with these two men , - so likewise in background but dissimilar in their response to it - confronting one another . Instead , the matter is n’t even brought up at all , because that would make Ryuji something other than a joke .
Persona 5 Strikersis both a spinoff plot as well as the canonical continuation toPersona 5 , but Ryuji represents the biz at its most indecisive about which of those it want to really be . Despite its young booster and youthful atmosphere , Personagames are n’t made for children , so there ’s nothing stoppingPersona 5Strikers- which deals in some in truth heavy topics - from digging into Ryuji ’s hurt to better analyze its primary baddie . What ’s holding it back , then , are the tropes of his character the secret plan clings to , even to the story ’s hurt . Hopefully , future installments can be bolder in their enactment .
Next : Persona 5 Strikers prove The Series Needs More Action Games
